The Heavy Guilt to scale down Becker stage

Photo courtesy: Rebecca Joelson

As another semester begins for students at Cal State Fullerton, so does another series of weekly concerts at the Becker Amphitheater.

Every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m., the stage of the outdoor music venue will be taken over by a new band to provide an hour of amplified entertainment for the campus.

The first band to seize control of the amphitheater is The Heavy Guilt, a San Diego-based rock ‘n’ roll band.

From an array of musical backgrounds, this six-man band is approaching the release of its third while continuing to aspire toward the ultimate music haven: a record deal.

Alfred Howard and Josh Rice were former members of the funk band K23. In 2008, when the rise of gas prices and vocal exhaustion made touring more difficult, the band called it quits.

When Howard and Rice were once again ready to pursue music careers, an email brought them exactly who they were looking for, singer Erik Canzona. From there, phone calls were made and friends joined together, thus creating The Heavy Guilt.

Today the band consists of Alfred Howard (writer), Josh Rice (keyboard), Erik Canzona (lead vocals), Jason Littlefield (bass), Sean Martin (guitar) and Jenny Merullo (drums).

With a sound that is part rock ‘n’ roll, indie and Americana, the band will release its self-titled album showcasing their new amped up sound, due sometime in April.

There is no doubt that their sound has evolved from the first two albums. Their first album, Lift Us Up From This, was released in 2009, followed by 2011’s In the Blood.

“Truth be told, playing slow brooding folk songs in loud bars on weekend nights is a challenge that our amps and attitudes rose to,” said Howard. “To eclipse the whiskey warmed conversation of a Friday night dive bar we needed to be louder and more engaging.”

He adds that for now the quiet ballads that shaped much of their early career will be played only “when people are familiar enough to care.”

The upcoming album will only show the evolution and progress made by the band and according to lead singer Canzona, it is the best work they have done yet.

“It combines the simplicity and richness of the first album with the live energy of the second,” said Canzona. “It’s the album I’ve always wanted to be a part of.”

With the new year, The Heavy Guilt has a new agenda and a new album. They plan to hit the road in support of their forthcoming album and gain more exposure outside of their hometown.

For those attending the live show at Becker Amphitheater, you can expect their rustic Americana folk rock sound, only amped up for the enjoyment of a live audience.

“It’s kind of like our albums on steroids,” Canzona said.

The show at the Becker Amphitheatre is free for everyone and takes place between the Titan Student Union and the Pollak Library. For more information on the band, visit their website: TheHeavyGuilt.com.

 

 

This article was written for the Daily Titan and ran on 1/28/2013. Link: http://www.dailytitan.com/2013/01/heavy-guilt-to-scale-down-becker-stage/

Reggae changes the musical pace at Becker Amphitheater

Courtesy of Mike Davids

Wednesday marks the sixth week of fall’s weekly concerts put on by the Associated Students Inc. at the Becker Amphitheater.

This week students can let loose and relax at the free show that runs from noon to 1 p.m. with the six-piece reggae band Fortunate Youth.

Fortunate Youth is a reggae collaboration born out of the South Bay of Los Angeles. The band is made up of Dan Kelly (lead vocals), Travis Walpole (percussion), Jered Draskovich (keys/bass), Corey Draskovich (guitar/bass/keys), Greg Gelb (bass/guitar) and Jordan Rosenthal (drums).

Titans that attend the concert at Becker can expect a fun, friendly and high-energy show from Fortunate Youth.

The band’s stage presence is a blend of a backyard jam session mixed with traditional reggae sounds.

They are known for passing around instruments on stage, dancing and always having fun.

“We are known to have a pretty good time on stage and we feel it resonates well with the crowd’s state of mind and energy,” said Gelb.

Gelb noted that they can sound similar to other reggae artists out there because they all stem from common influences and the same passion for the music they play as well as the reggae movement.

The high energy comes from a mixture of the band’s rootsy vibes and the unique bass and guitar riffs that are incorporated.

Although inspired by some of reggae’s most prominent and well-known acts including Bob Marley, Tribal Seeds and The Aggrolites, Fortunate Youth made sure to mark themselves as unique in their sound.

So far, the attempts have paid off. Their first full-length album, Irie State Of Mind, quickly rose to No. 2 on the iTunes reggae charts. The band also gained solid footing on the Billboard Top 100 Reggae Albums chart, making it all the way to No. 13.

“We play music that inspires us and hopefully other people. As musicians we all have our own styles and contributions to making our music and I think that helps us create our own unique blend,” said Corey Draskovich.

He added that there are many inspiring reggae artists in the world today and the band has had the opportunity to share the stage with a few of them.

Unfortunate Youth was a part of The Expendables “Winter Blackout” tour in 2012, as well as the Tribal Seeds nationwide “Run the Show” tour.

They even hosted their own nationwide “Summer of Sweet Love” tour and recently played in Costa Rica with Thicker Than Thieves.

The band has managed to do all this without even being signed to a record label.

As far as plans to sign with a label, the band does not seem to be in any hurry.

“There are many great and respectable record labels out there. I wouldn’t know where to start. I enjoy being an unsigned independent band, (it) gives you free reign and keeps everybody hands on,” Corey said.

As for future plans, they will soon be back in the studio to crank out some new music.

“We are constantly working on writing new music. We have done a little bit of work on the new album when we recorded our single last year, “One Love,” Corey said.

The group will record their album in the coming months at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica.

The group will be working with producer Lewis Richards. Richards helped produce their first album, Irie State Of Mind.

Titans and fans can visit the Becker to meet the band, watch the show and listen to a unique and high-energy blend of reggae music.

For more information on Fortunate Youth, visit the band’s website or Facebook page: FortunateMusic.com, Reverbnation.com/fortunateyouth, Facebook.com/fortunateyouth as well as moboogie.com/fortunateyouth.

 

 

This article was written for and published in The Daily Titan. It ran on Oct. 3, 2012, the link is below!

http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/10/reggae-changes-musical-pace-at-becker/

Becker is graced by the agents of morality

As the semester ushers itself forward, so do the weekly Wednesday concerts at Becker Amphitheater.

A quarter of the way through fall semester, the stage will once again be taken over.

The live musical performances  ring through the square outside of the Titan Student Union and campus bookstore.

On Wednesday, the band Free Moral Agents will treat Cal State Fullerton students to a one-hour performance at noon.

One of the band members might seem familiar to some audience members.

Isaiah “Ikey” Owens is a  Grammy-Award-winning keyboardist.

He was a member of the eclectic rock group The Mars Volta and De Facto and was involved in the Long Beach music scene.

Originally he started Free Moral Agents in 2004 as a solo project.

In the eight years since the band’s birth, Free Moral Agents left solo territory and became a group effort.

Today the group is comprised of  Mendee Ichikawa (vocals), Reid Kinnet (Rhodes), Jesse Carzello (guitar), Dennis Owens (bass), Ryan Reiff (drums) and Isaiah “Ikey” Owens (keyboards).

Leaving The Mars Volta to start his own project was anything but difficult for Owens.

Ichikawa and Owens are longtime friends that made music together for many years. Owens said it was an easy choice to welcome her to his one-time solo project.

“Mendee and I have been making music together since the mid ‘90s,” said Owens. “She’s my favorite singer.”

This decision has been proven right as the group continues to climb in their movement.

According to the band’s Facebook page, Free Moral Agents are currently preparing for the release of their newest album, Honey In The Carcass Of The Lion. They are also working on an EP titled Control This.

Free Moral Agents is collaborating with legendary Fela Kuti’s drummer and co-founder of Afrobeat, Tony Allen, to produce a 10” vinyl that is titled North Is Red.

With a tribal funk sound drizzled with hint of jazz that is laced over with the soft crooning of Ichikawa, Free Moral Agents produce a variety of sounds with their unnamed genre.

Throughout his career Owens has worked with artists from Sublime, Saul Williams and El-P. He is currently touring with Jack White.

This mix of artists, some that are as different as night and day, have surely inspired and influenced Owens and the various directions he continues to lead Free Moral Agents.

The unique sound that Free Moral Agents now embraces will likely evolve and grow as their collaborations extend farther and their current influences only deepen.

“All the people that I’ve played with have been my biggest influence, including the people I’m playing with now in Jack White’s band,” Owens said. “Also, Money Mark and R. Scott for California Lions have been big influences.”

Although the band has had an amazing and successful path in its eight-year lifespan so far, the future is still uncertain.

Owens is a tad hesitant to wish for too much when it comes to the future of the Free Moral Agents.

“Time at best is an uncertain entity. At it’s worst it’s cruel and unfair, so it’s hard to say,” Owens said. “In the digital age it’s hard to say what ten years really even means anymore.”

With a confession of uncertainty in a digital fast paced age of music, the words and their meaning are intriguing and only time will tell how true they might be.

The band’s interesting and memorable name runs as deep with intrigue as their indie-esque sound.

“Free moral agency is what makes us human. It’s what makes us powerful,” Owens said. “It’s the difference between us and the beasts.”

 

 

 

 

This article was written for and published in The Daily Titan. It ran on Sept. 20, 2012, the link is below!

http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/09/becker-is-graced-by-the-agents-of-morality/